Certain Obsessed Noble ( SPOILERS )

[GRiggs77]

Not exactly sure how to do a spoiler tag so I hope that the title helped.

I have been going through Skinsaw Murders to get a bit of lead time in my game prep. ( We just had our first session in Burnt Offerings )

I've read the entire AP before but now I'm going through it with a real eye for detail and I'm trying to envision each step and the interactions that might take place. In the process I've been a bit confused by how the confrontation with A.F. goes down.

As presented in the AP, there is a little conversation that takes place before A.F. loses it and jumps to the attack. Given that he's now a ghast and obviously horrific, wouldn't most parties just attack straight out and not have the little talk ? I would love to play that encounter out a bit more and have an actual physical change take place as one personality takes over but how could I make that work ? I think the visual of the obviously demented but still human having the little chat and then suddenly becoming the undead beast to attack would be a great move.

Am I missing something somewhere ? Any suggestions ?

[Kalshane]

By the time the PCs reach that point, they should be well-aware of his condition. Having him appear human would likely be confusing (plus they have the possibility of encountering a still human-looking duplicate of him when they visit his townhouse in Magnimar) and I don't know that it would make them less-likely to attack. At this point they know he's the murderer. His appearance should be irrelevant to their willingness to talk to him.

Basically, parties willing to chit-chat with the villain before fighting are going to do so regardless of what he looks like. The ones that aren't willing to chit-chat are unlikely to change their mind just because he doesn't currently look like a monster.

[mousmous]

Trust your gut- it's not steering you wrong, here. If I run this again, I'll be reworking this encounter. However, don't forget that he's not the actual boss of book two. I think many of us love the storyline that carries over one book to the next so much that we overplay His Lordship's final stand.

[Jhaeman]

I think you raise a good point. My group is just about at Foxglove Manor and I doubt they'll want to have a sustained conversation with Aldern once they find him. My plan is "bullet point" the most important bits of exposition I want him to reveal, not ask for Initiative until the transformation, and remember that talking is a free action if combat starts early.

[The Shifty Mongoose]

If you want him to talk but they want to bum-rush him, it still might be possible to split the difference - on his turn, he could apologize to them, make a pass at one of them, or beg them to kill him before he can eat any of them, for example.

If they aren't being Stealthy as they near his place, have him call out to them. Then, when they draw closer, Ghoul Hunger takes over. Something like that, perhaps?